Best friend
by DutchLady
Summary: It was raining the night Dean found the small dog. It sets in motion a chain of events Dean can't stop, nor does he want to. Eventual Destiel. Protective!Dean, Hurt!Cas. Rated T for now, will most likely go up to M.


**I'M BACK!**

**Only now with a Supernatural story! I've totally discovered SPN, and now I'm only slightly obsessed... *snorts, slightly* HAHA. **

**After reading and fav-ing a lot of SPN stories, and ****realizing how high the bar is set, I'm a little apprehensive about putting this out there. This is my first time with a SPN story, so please be gentle. Con-crit is most welcome. **

**This will be a Human!AU. With a lot of hurt/comfort and romance. Protective!Dean, Hurt!Cas.**

**Hey look! I've already got the lingo down!**

BEST FRIEND

Chapter 1

It was raining the night Dean found the little dog.

He had just gotten off of work, but even after the rather slow day he'd had he wasn't entirely sure if he had heard right. It had come from his left, from a alleyway, a little whimper was heard for a second time. Even in this down poor, Dean still recognized it as a dog's whimper.

Carefully, he made his way into the alley, following the continued whimpers of the dog, stepped over a discarded trash bag. Behind it, he saw a small dog. It was huddled in the tight space between two trash cans, shivering as it was soaking wet. Dean didn't know a lot about dogs, but knew enough to know that it was a German Shepard puppy.

"Well, hello little guy... or girl," Dean said in hushed tones. He held out his hand, so the puppy could sniff him. He crouched down, as the dog's nose twitched. The little puppy inched forward, sniffing Dean's fingers a bit better. When the dog had done that for about a minute, and Dean was now soaking wet as well, the man braved a bit more. He carefully reached out and gave the puppy a gentle scratch behind his… or her left ear.

Startled, the puppy age a sharp yelp, and scuttled back between the trash cans.

Now Dean wasn't about to let the poor thing in this weather. He just wasn't the type to do that. He'd always had what his younger, but taller brother Sam called his hero complex. Dean had always found that to be a bit overdramatic, just because he didn't like to see people he cared about in pain or trouble, and would do practically anything to keep his loved ones safe and happy, that didn't mean he had a hero complex.

Dean inched forward, and once again allowed the small dog to sniff his fingers. The puppy came forward and Dean gently, but quickly snatched the dog up and cradled it to his chest.

„Sh…," he tried to hush the scared and now trembling little thing. „It's going to be alright."

The dog must have sensed that Dean meant him no harm, because he snuggled into Dean's arms with a whimper and held still.

The dog was freezing cold to the touch and Dean worried that the little thing might even be hypothermic.

Walking to his car quickly, he opened the trunk and pulled out a blanket. As fast as he could with the shaking animal in his arms, he closed the trunk, opened the driver's side door and sat down. He placed the puppy in the passenger seat for a moment and draped the blanket over his own legs, grabbed the puppy again and folded the blanket around the small body. It would have to do until he got home. He just hoped that the combined warmth of the blanket and his body would do for now. He turned on the engine and turned the heater up as far as it would go.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he quickly dialed Sam's number. After a few rings he answered.

„_Yeah, what do you want?_" came rather crossly.

„Well, hello to you too," Dean snapped back.

There came a sigh. „ _Sorry man. I've got this stupid paper I have to turn in like yesterday, and it's getting to me. Sorry."_

Dean chuckled. His geeky nerd brother was in law school. Dean always knew he'd be proud of the giant. „It's alright. Listen, I need a favor. Are you somewhere where you can go online and look something up for me?"

There was a pause. „_Eh, sure. What do you need?"_

„I found this little puppy outside in the rain in an alley, and I think it might be hypothermic. I've got no idea how long it has been out there. Can you find out what the symptoms are?"

There was the distinct sound of Sam jamming his phone between his ear and shoulder, because his voice came a little muffled.

_„Sure, one sec, I'm booting up now. How did you find the thing again?"_

„I heard it whimper. I checked it out and there it was. Got anything?"

_„Jeez, Dean. Give me a second will you. Okay, I've got something. It says here that if an animal becomes hypothermic you should keep it warm in a bath, especially the extremities… and to consult a vet as fast as possible."_

„Okay, Sam. I just got from work, can you find out if there are any vets close by?

_„Let me google that… where are you now?"_

„Still in the parking lot of the shop."

There was typing coming through the phone line. _„Got one. About three blocks from where you are now. How about I call ahead for you, so they know you're coming."_

„Works for me," Dean said.

Sam gave him the address and hung up. Dean looked down at the small puppy in his lap. A nose and two huge and sad black eyes peeked out of the blanket.

„Don't worry, you're going to be fine" he said. The puppy gave a small whimper, and huddled down, desperately seeking warmth.

Gently, Dean drove away, and quickly drove to the veterinary office that Sam told him about.

The building was small, but appeared to be well kept. The doors were glass, with the name Novak, Veterinary in bright white letters worked into the glass. Two plant pots were on either side of the door, and the bricks were white washed, giving the building a clean look. Inside, Dean could see a small man look up when he pulled up. The guy was wearing a white coat.

The doctor quickly came over. „Hi, I'm Gabriel Novak. I take it you're Dean…"

„Yep, that's me. My brother Sam called ahead." Dean said, as he carefully got out of car, trying not to jostle the shaking puppy to much.

Doctor Novak nodded. „Yeah, he did. Called just in time too, I was just about to head out."

„I appreciate you staid behind for this."

Doctor Novak waved that comment away. „Absolutely no problem," he said as he lead Dean into the office and into an examination room. „You're brother was a bit vague over the phone, so tell me the story please?"

Dean placed the dog on the examination table and allowed Doctor Novak to peal away the blanket. „I was just leaving work and I heard a whimper from the alley, where I found this guy, or girl."

The doctor glanced up. „So this isn't your dog?"

Dean shook his head. „Nope, found it."

Doctor Novak nodded. „No idea how long this poor thing was out in this weather?"

„No Doc, sorry. I found it, let it sniff me, you know, like you do when you want to have a strange animal trust you, I managed to pick it up, wrapped it in the blanket, called Sam and here we are."

Doctor Novak nodded. „Right, well it's obvious that this girl, yes it's a girl, is hypothermic, but only slightly. So I don't think she was out there very long."

Doctor Novak continued to examine the dog, keeping his hands gentle and steady as he put a needle in for a drip with warm fluids.

Dean reached for the dog as Doctor Novak did his thing and gently scratched her head. Lethargy had settled in and the dog hardly responded.

"Poor thing," Dean muttered. "Does she have an owner?"

„I don't know, let's find out," Novak said and pulled a scanner from a drawer. Slowly he let run along the small body of the shaking dog. „ Well, there's no chip, so I would say that she's a stray."

Dean nodded and continued to pet her.

„What would I have to do to keep her?" he asked the vet.

Dean was shocked by this, the words had come without his consent, very easily, without reservation, and he couldn't take them back, nor did he want to. He never even considered owning a dog, dogs were more Sam's thing; but now that the little thing was here and needed him, Dean couldn't turn away from her. The dog stared up at him, with trust in her eyes. Slowly a tongue peeked out of her mouth and gave his hand a lick. Dean smiled and gently petted her head. This was a done deal, this dog was coming home with him.


End file.
